Why do stadiums always keep their lights on?

Stadium lights are always very expensive. But why do stadiums always keep their lights on? For more details, I will explain it to you. Running the lights in a stadium or any large venue is not cheap and typically the lighting is only on when it is needed.

However, just because a stadium isn’t full of paying spectators, it doesn’t mean nothing is going on. General maintenance, training, cleaning or setting up for an event will all need some form of light after it gets dark, and you may notice that while stadium lights can’t be dimmed, they will reduce the number of lights that are on to provide enough light without going overboard.

In my experience, maximum levels are only used when the television is being shot, a slightly lower level is used for event setups and you can perform cleaning and maintenance at around 50% or less.

Loading our a concert and then resetting the stadium for a sporting event will typically take most of the night, possibly giving the impression that the lights are ‘always on’.

Primarily it would be for the safety of patrons exiting the stadium. Stadium lighting is quite expensive so they use it sparingly.

The real reason why the lights are “left on” can be seen in the way lights “come on”. Power and lighting are managed. It is not simply switched on but progressively empowered. The power grid simply couldn’t handle such a sudden surge of consumption thus it is managed to prevent blackouts. The reverse is also true. The power grid could not handle a huge power spike caused by turning off the lights in unison. That is more dangerous than turning the lights on.

So what we find is that stadiums slowly turn their lights off after an event. The lighting benefits patrons leaving and allows staff to exercise various functions. The most modern stadiums are now using led lighting with a lot less power consumption so the staging of power is not so much an issue.